cryptidarchivesfandomcom-20200215-history
Tigre dantero
, , |Reported = 1961 |Researchers = • Karl Shuker • Bernard Heuvelmans}} The tigre de montaña (Spanish: "mountain tiger") is a cryptid felid reported from the montane forests of and , as well as from , described as a long-fanged cat smaller than a jaguar. Speculated to be a living sabre-toothed cat or a living sparassodont, these reports, alongside sightings of aquatic water tigers, present an exact parallel with the African tigre de montagne and water lions. Description This unknown cat is described as a striped animal with two very large protruding teeth, and is said to be somewhat smaller than a jaguar, although the "mutant jaguar" specimen was allegedly 160 pounds with 12'' fangs. It is reputed to be a very shy and rare animal, and is reported from deep montane forests. Sightings Undated An French itinerant named Picquet told Peter Matthiessen sometime before 1966 that he had glimpsed one of these cats in Colombia or Ecuador. Matthiessen thought Picquet was being sincere, but ultimately decided he must have been mistaken about what he saw. Picquet himself seemed to attatch little significance to the sighting, and retold it matter-of-factly.Matthiessen, Peter (1966) The Cloud Forest 1975 In 1975, an unusual big cat was allegedly killed in , and examined by zoologist Juan Acavar, who supposedly identified it as a living Smilodon weighing 160 pounds, with twelve inch fangs. However, to avoid causing any hysteria, either Acavar or the authorities declared that it was a mutant jaguar. Nothing more has been heard of this animal since, and Karl Shuker has been unable to track down Acavar himself. 1984 A 1998 Science Ilustrée article mentioned that a sabre-toothed cat had been seen emerging from a cave in Paraguay by a French sailor named "François Piquet" in 1984.Anon. "Le félin aux dents de sabre," Science Illustrée 62 (December 1998) Michel Raynal suggests that this account originated in a confusion of Matthiessen's original description of Pi''c''quet's sighting, which was published twenty years earlier, and Christian Le Noël's near-encounter with a tigre de montagne in a cave in Africa.Raynal, Michel "Sabre-toothed cats in Paraguay? Institut Virtuel de Cryptozoologie cryptozoo.pagesperso-orange.fr 24 May 2019 Loren Coleman also writes that this report, if not a new case, could be a rehashing of Matthiessen's story. Theories Peter Matthiessen briefly toyed with the idea that the cat seen by Picquet could have been a surviving sabre-toothed cat, but quickly dismissed the notion. Karl Shuker notes that, given the apparent extinction or depletion of most of South America's large herbivorous animals, it is unlikely that a full-sized Smilodon could survive there in the present day; however, he suggests that a smaller form would have a better chance of carving out a niche for itself, "especially in relatively inaccessible, undisturbed areas, such as remote, mountainous cloud forests," where it's striped coat would provide it with effective camoflauge. Another way for a sabre-toothed cat to find a niche for itself in modern South America would be to become a semi-aquatic animal, and indeed, such cryptids are reported from the length and breadth of the continent. If the animals are sabre-toothed cats, they are almost certain to be descendants of the famous Smilodon, as it is the only sabre-toothed cat known to have migrated to South America. Bernard Heuvelmans, whilst conceding that sabre-toothed cats like Smilodon could be involved, felt more comfortable speculating that these striped montane forest cats could be surviving relatives of Thylacosmilus, a cat-like sparassodont marsupial which closely resembled Smilodon, but which is believed to have gone extinct before cats even arrived in South America. Notes and references Do you think the exists? If so, what do you think the is? Myth, folklore, hoax, or otherwise made-up Mistaken identity Living sabre-toothed cat Living Thylacosmilus Category:Cryptids Category:South America Category:Colombia Category:Ecuador Category:Paraguay Category:Felids Category:Theory: Living fossil - Sabre toothed cat Category:Theory: Living fossil - Sparassodont